Elena Polivtseva

Eerst paaien, dan dreigen – de misplaatste verwachtingen van onderzoeks­journalistiek Follow the Money - Platform voor onderzoeksjournalistiek

Een kritisch artikel over een post-covidbehandeling leidde bij FTM tot sommatiebrieven van een advocatenkantoor, vlak voor publicatie. Eerst werden we gepaaid, daarna bedreigd. Wat gebeurt er in zo’n situatie bij ons achter de schermen, en waarom aarzelden we er niet aan om toch te publiceren?

We’ve talked a lot about artistic freedom in Europe recently. But surely, not enough.

Where are the gaps and cracks in this debate?

📖 Read my latest article on Culture Policy Room: www.culturepolicyroom.eu/insights/art...

Ex-EU justice chief Didier Reynders charged with money laundering The charge comes after months of investigation.

🔥 Ex-EU justice chief Didier Reynders charged with money laundering. @ftm.eu SCOOP with @lesoir.be @standaard.be and Le Vif www.ftm.eu/articles/rey...

💥 Here’s what you need to know about #Natogate, the corruption scandal that broke today, in 10 skeets #bagsofcash #ammunition #NSPA (link to full stories below)

EU’s chief prosecutor goes head-to-head with Brussels elite over corruption fight In its fight against fraud and corruption, the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) has locked horns with EU institutions and powerful political figures. Under Laura Codruța Kövesi, its uncompro...

🔥 Laura Kövesi, the first European Chief Prosecutor, has locked horns with EU institutions and powerful political figures. Insiders question if her successor, whose appointment process is in full swing, will continue to crack the whip.

✅ Free to read today on @ftm.eu ⤵️

www.ftm.eu/articles/eu-...

Proposed €8.6 billion for culture and democracy in the next EU budget Today, the European Union has published the first draft of its long-term budget. Here's what CAE is planning to advocate for moving forward.

The EC wants to double funding for culture - and it's urgent indeed. But let's face it: the proposed budget plan is getting serious pushback. Too much spending, they say. We need to keep fighting for culture or we risk watching it lose out: cultureactioneurope.org/news/propose...

www.tickaroo.com/e/G2Z0a8s9gN...

‘The shrinking political imagination is a threat to democracy’ — Culture Policy Room As the European Union grapples with long-term budgets and shifting political priorities, I spoke with Jonathan White about how Europe, as a shared democratic project, can endure in an age when collect...

As Jonathan White argues, politics obsessed with numbers has shrunk our sense of the future. Art can spark collective imagination and a deeper purpose beyond economic metrics. Read my conversation with @jonathanpjwhite.bsky.social here: www.culturepolicyroom.eu/insights/tod...

The battle over freedom Launch of the Green European Journal's Summer 2025 edition Venue: Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung European Union (Rue du Luxembourg 47-51, 1050 Brussels) and on Zoom.From the rise of the far right to the AI revolution, military threats, geopolitical tension, trade war...

🟢 14 July | Book presentation & discussion "The battle over #freedom: Launch of the @greeneujournal.bsky.social's Summer 2025 edition" with MEP @alexandrageese.bsky.social, @ailbhefinn.bsky.social, @elenapolivtseva.bsky.social, & Dominika Lasota 👉 calendar.boell.de/en/the-battl...
@boell.de

‘This MEP is on my payroll’: Huawei lobbyist bragged about bribery in the office At a time when Huawei’s reputation hit a new low in Brussels, one man kept the doors to politicians open – until he was arrested for alleged bribery. Now, insiders tell Follow the Money that Huawei’s ...

‼️ In March, Huawei’s EU corruption scandal made headlines across the world. Today, @ftm.eu returns with an insiders’ perspective: ten former employees shared their experience with the tech giant’s Brussels office … and its rogue lobbyist. Read the full story for free today www.ftm.eu/articles/hua...

Loud music, silent takeovers: How private equity is reshaping Europe’s festival scene The American private equity firm KKR now owns many of Europe's biggest festivals. The billion-euro purchase by a fund with links to Donald Trump has raised fears of rising ticket prices, and questions...

Sónar, DGTL, Field Day… Many of Europe’s iconic festivals are now owned by an illustrious private equity firm. The billion-euro takeover is sparking fears of rising ticket prices – and doubts about whether the values these festivals claim to stand for can survive under corporate control.

The Quest for a New Narrative on Culture: Foundations, infrastructures, Public Goods (and Bads) by Justin O’Connor

An attempt at a new approach to cultural policy, thanks to Elena Polivtseva and the Culture Policy Room
culturepolicyroom.substack.com/p/the-quest-...

The Quest for a New Narrative on Culture: Foundations, infrastructures, Public Goods (and Bads) — Culture Policy Room Justin O’Connor argues that we need a radical repositioning of culture as a core area of public policy, moving away from the technocratic pursuit of ever more impact metrics and advocacy efforts desig...

'We therefore need a radical repositioning of culture as a core area of public policy'. Read Justin O'Connor's new piece in Culture Policy Room explores how to navigate cultural policy out of its current crisis:

www.culturepolicyroom.eu/insights/the...

Huawei targeted in new European Parliament corruption probe Chinese tech giant Huawei is at the centre of a new corruption case in Europe’s capital. On Thursday, Belgian police raided the homes of its lobbyists, Follow the Money and its media partners Le Soir ...

🔥 BREAKING: Belgian police raided 21 homes today as part of a corruption probe into Huawei’s EU lobbying. Read @ftm.eu's news story now. An investigation with @lesoir.be @knack.be and @reportersunited.gr #HuaweiGate 🧵 www.ftm.eu/articles/hua...

Raad voor Cultuur stelt adviescommissie in over artistieke vrijheid De Raad voor Cultuur start een adviestraject over de artistieke vrijheid. Aanleiding zijn signalen uit de kunstsector dat de veiligheid en artistieke vrijheid soms onder druk staan. De raad heeft hier...

⚡The Cultural Council in the Netherlands establishes advisory committee on artistic freedom. Among the reasons why, it lists the pressures coming from societies. "...which performances they can still program without this leading to discussion..." www.raadvoorcultuur.nl/actueel/nieu...

Hi world, I just made this starter pack for those interested in Culture and Arts Policy. Let me know if you want to be added!
go.bsky.app/TugxmGk #culturalpolicy #artspolicy #culturalgovernance

2024 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐞𝐭. What kind of year has it been for cultural policy? And what can we anticipate in 2025? Read our analysis and subscribe for Culture Policy Room newsletter: open.substack.com/pub/culturep...

⚡We now have the list of new inter-groups of the European Parliament. The only one on culture has a self-explanatory name 'European cultural heritage, ways of saint James and other European cultural roots'. We were wondering what approach is going to prevail within the new polarised Parliament...

A story about our fight for the value of culture, how it’s often ignored in politics, and what we can do about it: www.boekman.nl/tijdschrift-...

Bank of scandals: toxic culture of favouritism exposed at the European Investment Bank The most important bank of the European Union is plagued by scandals. A Follow the Money investigation reveals how in the top management layers of the European Investment Bank a toxic culture of favou...

🔥 Over the past 5 months, I have been intensively scrutinizing the European Investment Bank, after news broke that former President Werner Hoyer was under investigation for corruption. Turns out it was just the tip of the iceberg. Read our story for free today on @ftm.eu

www.ftm.eu/articles/sca...

Burnout in the cultural sector Take this survey powered by surveymonkey.com. Create your own surveys for free.

Do you work in the cultural sector & have something to say about burnout?

I’m researching burnout & what can be done to prevent it under the supervision of @benwalmsley.bsky.social

Please complete this anonymous survey if you’d like to share your thoughts: www.surveymonkey.com/r/culturalse...

What are the official justifications of funding cuts in France?

This new OECD @oecdlocal.bsky.social report shows how different industries are exposed to AI. It is that type of situations, when grouping all art disciplines and cultural sectors under 'creative occupations,' we miss important differences - just look at the graph. www.oecd.org/en/publicati...

Berlin announces huge €130 million cuts to culture budget Germany’s government has confirmed huge cuts to the culture budget in Berlin.

⚡Berlin announces massive €130 million cuts to its culture budget.
Just last year, Euronews' headline: 'Berlin's new culture budget more than doubles England's arts funding'. How quickly things change.
www.euronews.com/culture/2024...

This is the former European Commissioner for justice. Money laundry through buying lottery tickets. Good morning Europe!

Belgian police raid homes of former EU justice chief Didier Reynders – two days after end of term Didier Reynders, until last Saturday the European Commissioner for Justice, is suspected of money laundering by the Belgian police. For about a decade, Reynders allegedly bought lottery tickets with d...

Didier Reynders was the EU’s Justice Commissioner until last Saturday – he is now under investigation for suspected money laundering. For years, he allegedly used dubious money to buy lottery tickets from the National Lottery, Follow the Money and Le Soir revealed.
www.ftm.eu/articles/eur...

Only 1.8% of the EU's Recovery and Resilience Facility was spent on culture (9 EU member states did not invest RRF money in culture at all). But some important innovations were funded out of the RFF budget. What will happen to them after 2026? ec.europa.eu/economy_fina...

A punch-in-the-gut observation from Justin O'Connor's recent paper: www.culturepolicyroom.eu/insights/glo...

Ex-EU commissioner flouts conflict of interest rules with new job leading political education centre Former European Commissioner Mariya Gabriel has started work as the head of an EPP-linked educational institute without following EU rules designed to prevent conflicts of interest. The institute Gabr...

Mariya Gabriel became president of the Robert Schuman Institute, but forgot to inform the Commission in line with the conflict of interest rules. Learning by doing… www.ftm.eu/articles/for...